Local

The S.C. Highway Patrol is reminding motorists about the harms of distracted driving as they travel on the highways this Thanksgiving weekend.
The official Thanksgiving holiday travel period began at 6 p.m. Wednesday and runs through 11:59 p.m. Sunday.
In 2009, nine people died in vehicle collisions during that time span. Troopers are out in full force over the holiday period, hoping to reduce that number this year.

Lancaster County’s jobless rate dropped 1.5 percent from 15.7 percent in September to 14.2 percent October, according to the latest figures from the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce.
The county ranked ninth in the state in unemployment in October.
South Carolina’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 10.7 percent in October from a rate of 11 percent in September.

A Rock Hill company will be in charge of replacing the effluent pumps at the city of Lancaster’s wastewater treatment plant.
Lancaster City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to award the project to Turner Murphy Construction Co. Inc.
For $775,370, Turner Murphy Construction will install four new 150 horse-power pumps, which send water from the treatment plant to the Catawba River.

Through Dec. 28, BI-LO Charities is teaming up with members of the community to provide food donations for HOPE in Lancaster and the Lancaster Council on Aging to make the holidays a bit brighter for those in need.
When visiting any BI-LO store during the Holiday Hunger Relief Program, shoppers will have the opportunity to help put food on the table of families in their community by buying a box full of groceries for $5.

The evening sun casts an orange glow over the Upstate’s Lake Jocassee, while a slight breeze brushes the grass along the Lowcountry coastline.
Students at Indian Land Middle School brought those two Palmetto State settings close to home last week with the help of a statewide-recognized artist.

A Lancaster woman suffered smoke-related injuries after she tried to save her dogs in a house fire Wednesday morning.
The fire started before 8 a.m. at the log cabin home of Rudy and Linda Shipton, the owners of Palmetto Kennels.
Their house, built in 1790, is located behind their business, off Charlotte Highway, just north of the Shiloh Unity Road intersection.
Lancaster County Fire Marshal Stephen Blackwelder said fire officials received the call at 8:12 a.m. about the blaze. The fire began in a bedroom, he said.

Four suspects arrested earlier this month have been linked to 12 burglaries throughout the county, though the list could grow.
Less than two weeks after deputies arrested and charged four Lancaster residents in connection with October’s burglary spree, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office has released a list of when and where the quartet’s crimes took place.

Four suspects arrested earlier this month have been linked to 12 burglaries throughout the county, though the list could grow.
Less than two weeks after deputies arrested and charged four Lancaster residents in connection with October’s burglary spree, the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office has released a list of when and where the quartet’s crimes took place.

The sheriff’s office is investigating a new wave of burglaries.
Between Nov. 15 and Nov. 21, a series of burglaries were reported from the Panhandle to the southern part of the county, including homes in Indian Land, Lancaster, Heath Springs and Kershaw.
Sheriff Barry Faile said the incidents were not connected to a burglary spree at a dozen locations last month. Four suspects were arrested earlier this month in connection with those crimes.

After more than a year of development and months of construction work, the new Roy Hardin Park is almost complete.
The relocated Indian Land park, which moved from its original 9.9 acres near Collins Road to 10.92 acres of property on Shelley Mullis Road, is close to opening for the public.
Brian Rollar, director of development with Charlotte-based York Development Group, which has been working on moving the park, said crews were putting the finishing touches on the park last week.